Masks serve so many spiritual and magical functions. Masks are shamanic tools; they are portals to other realms and existences; they enable spiritual possession. Putting on the mask enables a person to enter the realm of the sacred, to become another person or another being.

They are ceremonial objects. Some masks are believed to possess or radiate their own personal power. Masks are power items. They are the receptacle of divine forces or the manifestation of normally invisible divine forces.

Masks are created for countless purposes:

Used for religious purposes
They serve as talismanic shield
As votive offerings
Used to cover the faces of the dead
As components of various magic spells, and healing
Used as protection and privacy

Most famous western masks are associated with Carnival/Mardi Gras traditions.

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